In Tennyson's Ulysses, poetic sounds enable the poem to demonstrate a very complex contrast between Odysseus' longing for the past with his unmotivated attitude towards the present. When Odysseus talks about the past, he uses very passionate and active words; "Through scudding drifts the rainy hyades vexed with the dim sea: I am become a name." The use of "vexed" and sucdding" are both very active words which both have harsh sounds to them. This harsh noise that is made serves to reveal the narrator's tone and attitude towards his once adventurous past. In contrast, when Odysseus refers to the present, he uses very dull adjectives to describe his current life; "The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs." This line's assonance causes the reader to slow down and take his/her time to read the phrase. This, therefore, proves to underline Odysseus' resentment towards the progression of Time, and shows his slow approach towards the end of his life. Therefore, poetic sounds allow the reader to understand the narrator's tone, meaning and overall attitude through word choice and their sounds.
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